After nine-years of hiatus, the return of actor Matt Damon in the action franchise sequel "Jason Bourne" proved a spectacular hit at the box office with gross earnings of $60 million. The weekend kicked off with a rocky start with "Bad Moms", an American comedy that collected $23.4 million.
The Paul Greengrass directed American thriller became the top movie over the weekend in the North America. With an overwhelming earnings from over 4,026 theatres, the movie edged past "The Bourne Legacy" that fell a little short at $52,521 earnings in the first weekend.
Overseas, the Matt Damon starrer movie managed to collect a stout $50.1 million in the first weekend. Lagging behind, "Star Trek Beyond" appeared on the second with estimated earnings of $24 million, with a total $105.7 for two weeks.
The raunchy comedy "Bad Moms", on the other hand, managed to reap $23.4 million through ticket sales, a little higher than $20 million that went into making the movie. Starring Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis, the movie was rated an A Grade according to the CinemaScore exit polls. As per reports, "Bad Moms" is the first R-rated movie that could achieve a result like "The Hangover" in 2009, NY Times reported.
It took over $120 million to produce "Jason Bourne" that boasts a stellar collection of $11.2 million in South Korea and $10.2 million in the UK, second to "Finding Dory" with a grossing of $10.8 million.
Written and directed by Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, "Bad Moms" revolves around three under-appreciated moms who rebel and follow a journey of self-indulgence and freedom. The movie also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Applegate and Annie Mumolo.
As for Jason Bourne, Matt Damon's presence in the movie was cited one of the prime reasons why people bought tickets to the movie, according to survey. "In the opinion of Universal's distribution chief, Nick Carpou, "It's no secret that people were anticipating a reunion of [Damon and Greengrass]. Putting the team back together made smart business sense."
Senior media analyst of ComStore opines, "It proves that this is a franchise that's still viable and that it can continue if they want to keep making them," Variety reported.
Here, have a sneak peek at the Jason Bourne and Bad Moms movies: